Thelymitra Kay Nesbitt - Blooming size tuber - Bare root

Thelymitra are some of the most incredible orchids in the world. They have gorgeous shape, unreal colors (including true blues), and often have amazing fragrances. They are called sun orchids because their flowers open when in the warm sun and close when they are not.

Thel. Kay Nesbitt is Thel. (antennifera x rubra). Thel. antennifera has large, bright to light yellow flowers, some even with a red lip, with an immaculate fragrance. Thel. rubra has fragrant pink-red flowers and is smaller-growing. Very unlike other Thelymitra, it benefits from bright shade. This hybrid will have colors from light orange-red to bright reds and will remain more compact.

Most Australian terrestrial orchids are SUMMER DORMANT - yes, summer, not winter. This makes their need for slightly cooler temps (<75 F) while growing much easier to maintain (we grow them in the same location that we grow our Habenaria during the spring and summer). They like bright light and can have dark and/or yellowing on their leaves as a result (look up in situ pictures - those leaves do not look so happy, but, wow, do they flower well!). We water 2-3 times a week to keep the medium slightly damp during the growing season.

These can be a little challenging to grow, but that is almost entirely because of the medium. They grow best in an extremely well-draining, mostly-inorganic medium that has some sort of healthy fungal and/or bacterial microenvironment to help aid the plant's growth since they have a very unimpressive root system.

Original photos captured by Jean and Fred Hort (left) and Robert Mitchell (right) and modified for use by RustyExotics Orchids, Inc.